Missing in Action
by Zellona
Summary: The scene from Mt. St. Helens and the two weeks Percy was missing during Battle of the Labyrinth, only from Annabeth's point of view. This is my first fanfic ever, please Read & Review!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello readers! This is my first fanfic I've made on here, so needless to say I don't really know what I'm doing in terms of publishing this... heh heh... ^^' **

**I've been waiting quite a while for that great idea to hit me, and eventually decided what better fanfiction to write than one of my favorite Percebeth moments _ever_(The scene from Mt. St. Helens) in Annabeth's point of view?**

**Yeah, I know there are a lot of stories about that, but none of them are the way I pictured it :)**

**I tried my best not to make it sound too much like the original book, but there's only so much you can do.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Percy Jackson and the Olympians _or any of its characters.**

The first thing I noticed about Hephaestus' forge was the floor, or lack thereof. Percy and I were standing on a rock ridge going around the cavern, hundreds of feet above a sea of molten lava. Bridges connected all kinds of metal platforms, and I could see figures moving around on them.

"We'll never be able to sneak up on them," Percy said.

Creepy as it was, I picked up the robot spider and put it in my pocket. I had a feeling we'd need it later. "I can." I said, taking out my Yankees cap, "Wait here." Ignoring Percy's protests, I put it on and went to see what these things were.

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These were some of the strangest creatures I had ever seen, and that was saying something. Picture a creature about the size of a human with the face of a dog, the body of a seal, with flipper-like feet and human hands with claws.

That's what these things looked like.

On top of that, they were making a blade that I sure as Hades wouldn't want to face in battle. What kind of weapon needs to be cooled in blood? You know what? I don't want to know.

I looked back at the ledge where I left Percy and a wave of panic went through me. That Seaweed Brain! Where was he now?

My question was answered when I saw him running onto the platform with a panicked look on his face.

"Annabeth!" he yelled. Was he _trying_ to blow our cover?

I slapped my hand over his mouth and pulled him out of sight, "Shhh! You want to get us killed?"

He started grabbing at the air for a second, touching my face at one point, before he found my Yankees hat and took it off.

I scowled at him, "Percy, what is your problem?"

He explained to me about how he had hidden in a cart and got stuck in a monster orientation classroom. Great job, Percy.

"So that's what they are, Telekhines. I should've known. And they're making... Well, look"

We looked over the cauldron at the four telekhines working on a long piece of hot metal.

"What _is_ that?" He whispered.

"They keep talking about fusing metals," I said, "I wonder––"

"They were talking about the greatest Titan weapon." He hesitated. "And they... they said they made my father's trident."

"The telekhines betrayed the gods," I explained, "They were practicing dark magic. I don't know what exactly, but Zeus banished them to Tartarus."

"With Kronos."

I nodded, "We have to get out––"

Before I could finish my sentence, a door slammed open and a bunch of young telekhines came stumbling out.

"Put your cap back on," Percy said suddenly, "Get out!"

"What?" I tried and failed to sound calm, my voice coming out as a panicked shriek, " No! I'm not leaving you."

"I've got a plan. I'll distract them. You can use the metal spider––maybe it'll lead you back to Hephaestus. You have to tell him what's going on."

The last line of the prophecy was ringing in my head, _And lose a love to worse than death_." But you'll be killed!" I choked out.

"I'll be fine. Besides, we've got no choice."

I glared at him. He was right. I _hate_ it when he's right. But I couldn't help wondering if this would be the last time I saw Percy, if he died not knowing how I felt about him...

Before I realized what I was doing, I leaned forward and kissed him.

"Be careful, Seaweed brain," I said and put my Yankees hat on.

When I reached the entrance I looked back briefly and couldn't help smiling despite the desperate situation. Percy was still sitting there, staring at the lava with a dazed expression on his face.

It took every ounce of will power I had to keep walking through the Labyrinth. Not long after I left I heard something that made me stop in my tracks. It was the sound of Percy Jackson screaming in pain.

I couldn't take it anymore. I turned around and started running back when a huge explosion shook the earth.

I fell to my knees, "Percy!" I screamed. He couldn't be... He couldn't be _dead_. Tears stung my eyes as it dawned on me that there was no way Percy could've survived that explosion.

**So what do you think? Love it? Hate it? In between? Please review and tell me! Constructive criticism is more than welcome, in fact I encourage it... Just please be constructive...**

**I'll probably write a second chapter about the two weeks where Percy was missing, hence the title, but I wanna know what you guys think! **

**Also, I'm used to writing in third person, so this is out of my comfort zone to begin with. Which is _even more_ of a reason why I want you guys to review! Please? It'll make my day!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hola, mi amigos! I know, you probably hate me for taking a whole month to write the second chapter, but this was my system: Step 1, get an idea. Step 2, try to write it down. Step 3, forget the idea. Step 4, get frustrated. Step 5, get distracted. Repeat. In fact, I got the idea for the chapter (for the fifteenth time that week) I got up and sprinted to my laptop to start writing it down before I forgot it (which startled my parents XD) **

**Sorry if Annabeth is OOC in this chapter, but you wouldn't be acting like your normal self when your best friend/crush is thought to be dead, would you?**

**Also, a big shout-out to _I am a naiad glad to serve u_ and _ . _for helping me figure out how to post a new chapter on here!_  
_**

**Now onto the story :3**

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**Disclaimer: If I owned Percy Jackson and the Olympians or its characters, this wouldn't be a FAN fiction, would it?**

After that explosion, everything was a blur.

I only vaguely remember telling Hephaestus what happened and returning to Camp Half-Blood. I wanted to believe that Percy escaped, that he had somehow gotten out of trouble like he always does. I prayed to all the gods that he would be alright, but after seeing the Mt St Helens eruption on the news, even I knew it was hopeless.

Two weeks.

That was how long Percy had been gone.

I'd like to say I was strong throughout these two weeks, but the truth is I couldn't stop crying. My life is crazy. Everything around me is constantly changing, and I've always wanted to have something in my life that isn't changing all the time.

And that thing was Percy. Through all the years I've known him, he's barely changed at all. He's still the same goofy, loyal and, let's not forget, _stubborn_ Percy he was when he was twelve. The only thing that _has_ changed about him is he's more mature (well, sometimes) and more of a leader. But there was something else about him, and I didn't realize what it was until it was too late.

Yes, I have..._had_... a crush on Percy Jackson. There, I said it. Sue me.

"Annabeth?" Malcolm's voice interrupted my thoughts, "It's time for the...you know."

He was careful not to say _funeral._

I didn't want to go; even though there was no way Percy could have escaped the explosion, the funeral seemed to make it much more real. But I owed it to Percy.

Everybody at Camp Half-Blood was there, even the kids from the Ares cabin (No doubt Chiron made them). I tried my best to keep my tears back as Chiron talked.

"We're here today to honor Percy Jackson, who gave his life to save his friend," I was now finding it really hard to keep myself from crying. "Since we have no body of proof, we can only assume he's dead. After so long a silence, it is unlikely our prayers will be answered. I have asked his best surviving friend to do the honors."

That was my cue. I got up and walked to the flames, and looked down at the shroud. It was sea green - the same color as his eyes - with a dark green trident embroidered on it. It was beautiful; Percy probably wouldn't have let me burn it.

I sighed and laid it down on the flames. I took a deep breath and turned to face everyone. I was _not_ going to break down in front of everyone.

"He was probably the bravest friend I've ever had. He . . ." I noticed someone standing in the doorway. My eyes widened, "He's right there!"

He looked horrible. His hair was singed at the ends and even messier than usual. He'd clearly lost a lot of weight and looked exhausted. But here he was, very much alive.

Everybody turned around to see what I was looking at. Some gasped.

"Percy!" Beckendorf yelled as people crowded around Percy.

The relief I felt a few seconds ago was quickly replaced by anger. A million questions were going through my mind. I decided to start with the most important one.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" I shouted, plowing through other campers and tackling him with a bear hug that almost knocked him over. I was suddenly aware of everyone staring at us and pulled away. "I-we thought you were dead, Seaweed Brain!"

"I'm sorry," he stuttered. "I got lost."

"LOST?" two weeks, TWO WEEKS, he's been missing and _that's_ the explanation I get? "Two weeks, Percy? Where in the world-"

"Annabeth," Chiron interrupted me. "Perhaps we should discuss this somewhere more private, shall we? The rest of you, back to your normal activities!"

Once we were at the Big House, Percy told us his story.

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**There you go! I might change the ending or add more on, but it was 11 at night when I finished so I just left it there. What do you think?**

**By the way, you know how in the first chapter I said that if you reviewed my story it would make my day? Well, I wasn't kidding. _This _is how excited I got when I saw my first reviews: (I swear on the River Styx I'm not exaggerating!) **

**So I was checking my emails on my phone before getting out of bed (yes, I do that) the morning after I published the first chapter, and saw two emails from . I read the reviews and (I kid you not!) I got so excited I ran downstairs and shoved my phone into my moms face going, "I got a review! I got a review! I got a review! ****I got a review! I got a review! Look look look!" **

******Yes... Getting reviews really makes me that happy... Even now I grin every time I get a review notification. Sad, right?**

******Anyway, hope you liked it! Please review and tell me what you think! :D**


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